Monday, June 27, 2011

-In other news, if you haven't looked at the new fixed up Subterranean Design site, do so forthwith. It is just page after page after page after page after page of amazing dungeon eyecandy. Not often you can get vacation and D&D ideas simultaneously...

1 Frothingforth gaol2 far behind enemy lines3 the tower you once called home4 a land both distant and dismal5 both myself and from your hilarious mother6 the Bleak CityThis past season has been

1 dense with the breeding of unexpected events2 intolerably humid3 suspiciously merciful4 , no doubt, a black joke perpetrated on this family by the omnipotent author of all thingsI trust that the news of recent events here has reached you, and I likewise trust you received the

1 cheeses2 unobtrusive young gentleman3 map4 unusual device5 cream6 instructions7 claw8 needleI sent earlier, for otherwise you would be entirely unable to read the words I now set down. Though I am indeed made weary by the strain of maintaining this deception, I see the necessity in it, as, I am certain, do you.

1 Seek the counsel of2 You must destroy3 Be sure to avoid4 Be sure to consult5 It is vital that you investigate6 Do not speak to

1 the oracle of Cloven Wheel.2 the four lunatics in Orgus Waarg.3 Lord Veel and his Grey Army.4 the Blind Mirror.5 Mobulus Fantom, the Thrusting Orc.6 anyone who might possess any knowledge concerning your current condition.7 the humans.8 the assassin.To do otherwise is to risk what little you have left.Your most humble servant

1 Another map is enclosed--verso.2 I have sent three copies of this missive via three separate routes in the event that some misfortune should befall the messenger.3 Veska is a spy.4 I hope the biscuits I've enclosed live up to their local reputation.5 No more drawings, your aunt caught a glimpse of the last one and almost went into convulsions.6 It's in the third drawer down behind the knife.7 I have it on good authority that the Count suspects nothing.8 The code is: 8-7-4-8.9 Before this is over, I will have what's rightfully mine, no matter what you've been told.10 I'm told Carnifex has apparently been asking for me. I want to assume you didn't set me up, but I wouldn't put it past you.11 Othros incara ex'na glarr een amnata (spell activates when read).12 They are invulnerable to flame, but a knife hewn from ice formed on a moonless night is their bane.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

The original version of the Magnesium Spirit is one of a whole dull batch of unillustrated (or under-illustrated) things-that-have-one-exotic-attack-and-then-try-to-possess-your-body monsters in there.

My version here (sorry the bottom bit's blurry 'cause of the scanner fucking up) is a sort of alchemical semiundead. It looks like a sort of awkward, wavery version of a person at first. However, then the upper half of its body explodes in a burst of blinding light (save vs whatever or be blinded) and this flash then throws shadows on the walls or other surfaces nearby.

If the flash of light should happen to hit any living thing, its shadow will turn into a shadow with abilities and hit dice commensurate to the size of the cast shadow itself (in most cases this will be limited by the size of the room.) Outside in mist, the creature's flash will create Brocken spectres--which behave as wraiths.As these shadows attack, the Spirit itself will attempt to gnaw at the target(s) in order to consume the magnesium in their bones. Its physical attack is relatively feeble--however, after 4 rounds it will regenerate its upper body and be able to generate another flash.

8 Rat or other familiar through which resident or allied wizard will remotely notice intruders and cast spells. May bide its time and see what the intruders are all about.

9 Female attendants who are secret ninjas.

10 The closet door near the front door is open. All other doors in the house are trapped. Closing the closet door (like the inhabitants do when they come home) deactivates the traps.

11 Annoying Knox Harrington-esque visitor who just happens to be there when intruders show up (if they came in via b&e then assume the visitor's unconscious on the sofa or something) and who assumes the PCs are friends, family or employees of the homeowner and generally behaves like a hilarious rube to the best of the DMs ability.

13 No traps per se but the floors and/or walls are made of glass so if anybody is home they'll notice the PCs.

14 Little girl (possibly red-headed) who just goes AAAAAAAAAAAAH and runs away if she sees intruders. Maybe some guards show up.

15 Very old guests/parents, etc at dining room table playing cards or eating soup who think the PCs are there to fix the oven.

16 The old monster-gargoyle-disguised-as-sculpture-gargoyle trick. A little one. Maybe it just follows you.

17 All the doors to all the rooms are locked. And the locks are pretty good. Breaking them probably makes noise and attracts somebody--guards, neighbors, the place's owner, the dog--whatever.

18 No security measure per se, but the only valuables in the house appear to be in the bedroom along with a young and attractive NPC who's tied up and gagged. Sophisticated PCs may realize that s/he's not necessarily a prisoner.

19 Toys or marbles strewn all over the floor, a failed dex or reflex check will cause a PC to fall and make a loud thump. If they fail by 6 or more then the PC takes d4 damage from a sharp jack or something.

20 Pit trap under hallway carpet--if someone falls in, a grate closes over top, trapping them until the owner comes home. Spinning the chandelier clockwise after coming in the front door deactivates the trap.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Appetizer: Lucifer from the original Battlestar Galactica.Now if you're thinking: oh why don't more things partake in the same delirious bad trip low-fi space-fantasy aesthetic, then check this:The Outer Space MenThat link has some very interesting notes form the designer on how these things came about, plus other goodies like sketches and space-ships and toy-design history.Click to enlarge awesomeness of packaging.

Last night I spent hours playing and then more hours at a bar talking about a game that is in the late beta stage called Lyssan. Here are some bits of it...It's one of those hobby boardgames derived from German things like Settlers of Catan and the one with the wood and the wheat and all that--only not retarded. It's immensely complicated in a good way. It's like Risk for competitive brainiacs (like Small World? Kinda like that but with a gazillion more shoots and ladders). And it has all kinds of cool random mechanics so every game comes up different and clever. If you're into internecine politics, Rube Goldberg strategies and hexcrawl-domination and have 2 or 3 friends who think they're smarter than you I really recommend it.

The designer's running a Kickstarter campaign for it. And since I like it a lot (it's one of those games you lose and instantly want to play again) I hereby am recommending it to you and suggest you check it out and put the full weight of whatever my recommendingness carries with you behind it.

And last up here is a neat location for the Hack Vornheim contest entry courtesy of Dan Voyce who doesn't have his own blog so I am posting it here.

It's a little more "Monsters Everywhere" than I would personally use for a business on the street in Vornheim itself, but it's an interesting place. I could see it fitting nicely in the Vault of the Drow.______THE THEATRE AMPHISBAENA

By Dan Voyce

The Theatre Amphisbaena is Vornheim’s most popular venue for reptile opera and outrageous stage shows – thanks mainly to a cadre of reptile men who somehow got the Regent’s blessing to live in the city. A carefully crafted aura of stylish danger pervades the place, only adding to its mystique. The stylish go there just to be seen, the elite use it as neutral ground and for scheming in the shadowed balconies. Countless strands of intrigue, destiny, and chance tangle here: There’s never just one thing going on.

Place it randomly on the Vornheim map. Scandals sometimes force the theatre to close and reopen elsewhere, so you can always move it later. The Amphisbaena prefers tawdry districts amidst taverns, bordellos, and drug dens. Even if the area wasn’t like this when the theatre arrived, within 2d6 weeks it has become so.

There are half a dozen reptile men based at the Amphisbaena (at least officially) plus medusas, nagas and other ophidian things. The remaining entertainers are a mix of commonplace and exotic races.

RANDOM EVENTS & COMPLICATIONS (1d20)• PC mistaken for missing actor• 1d6 thieves at work• Old enemy takes seat next to a PC• Master of Revels and his cronies burst in to shut the theatre down.• Interesting meeting tonight… (Roll 1d8 twice to see who’s involved: 1 –villain PCs have met before; 2 –one of the party’s favourite contacts; 3 –random aristocrat; 4 –Eshrigel, 5 –One of Zorlac’s librarians; 6 –church dignitary; 7 –Duke Regent; 8 –random powerful monster)• Band of drunken young nobles looking for trouble• Satireveritas escapes• Public accusation against PCs, resolved with Trial by Drama (Vornheim, p59)• Fanatics attempt to bring “monstrous reptile men” to justice• Tonight’s work has been banned but they’re doing it anyway (roll 1d4: 1 –Lampoons nobility, 2 –historical controversy, 3 –religious heresy, 4 –contains demonic ritual).• Wronged citizen looking for reckoning with the reptile men (roll 1d6: 1 –weeping widow, 2 –cuckolded husband; 3 –blackmailed aristocrat; 4 –outraged priest; 5 –angry adventurers; 6 –someone influential [see option 5])• One of the mimics has escaped into the cellarage. Well, hopefully it’s still in the cellarage. Could you subdue it for us?• PCs spot a stage prop is really a dangerous magical item• PC spots an Eye of Fate scurrying under nearby seat (Vornheim, p9)• One of the foyer strumpets is a vampire• Tonight’s show contains a random superstition or fate that afflicts many in the audience• Random aristocrat woos the party, hoping to become their patron• Ghosts are everywhere tonight• Lost in the theatre is a snake whose skin holds a secret• Tonight’s performance casts a random magical effect on the audience (Vornheim, p62)

LOCATIONSThe interior map may change (generate randomly, as per the citycrawl rules) but décor and basic features remain the same.

PorticoGiant bronze torches flank the entrance, hissing and spluttering. Playbills pasted on the walls advertise what’s coming soon. Carriages clog the street come show time, disgorging a steady stream of guildsmen and aristocrats. Pimps and prostitutes are plentiful, alongside gawpers hoping to see something scandalous.

FoyerThis room is decorated with statues, men and women supposedly turned to stone by the resident medusas. Scantily-clad servants patrol with trays of drinks and sweetmeats (many will dally with visitors in a back room for the right price). Occasionally a reptile man or other notable mingles with arriving crowds to cause a stir.

A giant amphisbaena greets guests from a gilded cage, twin heads bantering suavely sibilant evil with a voice like wasp stings in honey. Their palindromic name is Satireveritas and they adore gossip and scandal – learning it, spreading it, instigating it. The serpent’s other priorities are general mischief and the seduction of beautiful women. Its not unpleasant musk pervades the room.

The theatre’s prices vary a lot depending on the night’s performance and the salaciousness of recent scandals:

There’s a 50% chance that tonight’s performance is Reptile Opera, the six most popular are currently:

• The Gods Against The Fools.• The Hierophant and the Harlot’s Chorus• The Paladin of Pentacles and the Queen of Wands• The King and the Hanged Man• The Hero with a Thousand Faces• The Wise Man’s Journey To Hell

Otherwise roll 1d20 to see what’s on. Not every show is performed by reptile men, but they oversee everything:

Further below are snake breeding pits, pens for a number of domesticated mimics that the reptile men use as guards, spies, and living props, and a very well guarded albino hydra whose regenerating flesh provides a never-ending supply of operas.

RANDOM THEATRE NPCS (1d20)

NAMEPROFESSIONSECRETS & PLOTS1Cirac PapandreouSuave and creepy reptile man. Unflappable. Masterful performer.Coolly juggling the blackmail of 1d100 local aristocrats. Would you like a favour?2Jasna PradaMegalomaniac Prima Donna never without a coterie of admirers, toadies, hangers on and other parasites.Terrified of reptile men but wishes to undermine them “for the good of humanity”3Kamen ZlověstniHuman opera singer with a stylised serpent’s face tattooed over his own.Devotee of reptile opera, seeking to transform himself into a reptile man.4Kasper MeguroBrilliant but eccentric method actor. Insists on staying in character at all times.Secretly a doppelganger/shapeshifter. Real one is kept locked away.5Coburn PalookasBlustering but friendly old thespian (hammier than a butcher’s shop).Waiting patiently for the Man With The Jewelled Violet Eye… then revenge at last!6Seamus ZelaznySpecial effects expert. Master of flash powder, stage magic, alchemical lighting etc.Moonlights as a gigolo/courtesan. Is in over their head with 1d6 psychotic aristocrats7Goth ZocchiSinister harlequin. Speaks of himself in the third person.Genie in human guise. Instigates and advances Chaos in all its forms.8Ophelia SweetPrecocious singer and dancer/acrobat.Kleptomaniac, addicted to the adrenalin rush. Moonlights as a daring thief.9Goshen MernikIrascible bombastic womanising high-functioning alcoholic. Flawless on stage.Looking for an opportunity to go out in a blaze of glory.10Violet PavaneMusician.Secretly untalented, uses magic to hide it. Always wants more.11Mullen PoagStagehand/RoustaboutAgent of rival theatre here to spy and sabotage.12Cena BatistaSnake dancer/handlerLocked in bafflingly esoteric bloodless duel with rival reptile man.13Abner DysartBit Part Actor.Blackmailed by the Master of Revels, looking for evidence to get the theatre shut down.14ZampanòDisturbingly intense child prodigy.Being stalked by obsessive noble.15Unger ZdunichGothic necromancer.Has a cursed item they’re desperate to be rid of.16Simon SevenarmsJuggler/acrobat. Magically created multi-armed half man, half spider monkey.Totally insane in private. Wants to release the theatre’s hydra.17Pulchus GromeLarger than life ogre tenor.Shortly to be killed and used by The Chain (Vornheim, p8). Roll 1d3: Target is… 1) in audience, 2) in cast, 3) the PCs.18Aulis IagoMagician. Knows genuine magic but pretends its all stagecraft and misdirection.Fallen into the clutches of local witches (Vornheim, p8). Being forced to do terrible things for their amusement.19Sanguine SekushiElegant medusa dancer-courtesan.Planning to launch challenge for control of the theatre during its next opera.20Jagga TupuNaga oracle.Demons occasionally torment her dreams until she commits a wicked act.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Been thinking about ways to organize overlapping random dungeon tables so you can target them toward making the kind of dungeon you want. Like if you need a cave for a bunch of dumb orc bandits you roll once and never have to ignore a result since it just gave you a magical alignment-sensing teleportation trap and a haunted library.

This may just look like a ball of chaos, but I think I can actually make it make sense on paper.

Monday, June 20, 2011

James--question for you... How much of a pain in the ass would it be to throw together (or just help throw together) a list of all the free adventure modules that've been published over the last few years? Not every single product--full games and sourcebooks and rules can be left out, as well as things published as part of Fight On or Knockspell or Land of Nod--just the heavier-duty products. Lemme know

-zak_______

Sure. Give me a few days to put it together and I'll send a list of the ones I know of and whatever else I can dig up.

Take care,

James________

Hi Zak,

Here you go! I didn't include setting supplements, but if you want those, or anything else, let me know. It's all fresh in my mind at the moment, so I could gather it together, pretty quick.

-This pdf is the most useful game tool I've come across in a long time. And I don't even have a d30. Download it and check it out. It's free.

-Anybody remember a 2e-era module with like a dwarf city with giant worm tunnels all over it? What's it called?

-So, like I said, Connie and I played in a Type IV game yesterday. We had fun. Was talking to the DM, cameraman Darren for a bit after, I've played Type 4 twice, he's played Type 4 since before it came out (he was a beta tester) and we agree--the fun of Type IV is like this:

It's fun while you're taking your cleric and slowly finding a way to turn him into a perfectly-tuned chess piece. But if and when you ever finish doing that, you look at your character and it's suddenly not a cleric anymore, it's just a chess bishop. Your powers are in general so much more powerful than any lateral-thinking tactic you could think up, so you just gotta use 'em. Then hopefully you level up and there are new fiddly bits and it's fun to figure out how they work again if they're interesting fiddly bits.

Anyway, it was me and Connie and a bunch of D&D newbies. We pretty much just fought 3-and-a-half rounds of a bunch of kobolds invading a village and it took four hours and it was lovely.

-Transylvanis 1600 seems oddly compelling. Despite the fact that I usually think having more than one vampire in a story ruins vampires. Thing is: James' version will probably contain lots of (eww) rural peasantfolk and (double eww) Renaissance stuff. So I may have to make my own doubly-decadent Hungary-1600-that-only-exists-in-my-head version.

The phrase "anti-Camelot" keeps popping up in my mind.

I've been there--Hungarian Renaissance sculpture is actually really interesting. It looks, superficially, like Italian Renaissance stuff and is just as technically polished, if not better--but it has this creepy, downcast angsty look to it and lots of sharp edges. One of those things they don't teach you in art history class. Fucking Vasari.

-Another thing still rolling is Gigacrawler. Some of you left additions in the comments in the last few months and had them swallowed up by the spam filter--but I just found that part of blogger and cleaned it out, so your comments are back and that won't happen again. Sorry bout that, and thanks!

-If you took a look here yesterday and saw me making a head, you might be interested to see how these things end up. Here's Connie's head, done the same way......and here's the finished piece...-And here is a work I just finished entitled "Furries Undermine Legitimate Cosplay"